Our Broken Justice System

Life without Possibility of Parole for Young People Reflects the Failures of Our Broken Justice System

Our justice system in the United States should be grounded in the values of rehabilitation, redemption, and fairness. To this end, it must draw a clear distinction between youth and adults, and should ensure youth are treated in an age-appropriate manner. This is the very reason a juvenile justice system was created– because of what we know about the special needs of young people and their fundamental emotional, behavioral, and developmental differences from adults. But too frequently the current system ignores this essential consideration of age and maturity, and youth become subject to the adult criminal justice system that has its own deeply-rooted problems.

This injustice is reflected most starkly in the lifetime incarceration of youth without the possibility of parole. While our juvenile justice system was founded on the belief that young people have the potential to grow and change, almost 2,500 young people have been denied any opportunity in their lifetime to prove they have been rehabilitated and are safe to return to our communities.[1] This practice is an extreme example of other large-scale problems throughout our juvenile and criminal justice systems. Specifically, the sentencing of youth to life without parole highlights many systemic failures of our justice system, which include: 1) overly punitive treatment of youth; 2) disproportionate minority contact and racial disparities in sentencing and incarceration; 3) mandatory minimum sentences and lack of judicial discretion; and 4) inadequate assistance of counsel.

Overly Punitive Treatment of Youth

Research confirms that young people are uniquely suited for rehabilitation.[2] Young people do not have adult levels of judgment, impulse control, or ability to assess risks.[3] The areas of the brain affecting judgment and decision-making typically are not fully developed until a person reaches his or her early 20’s.[4] Still, youth are subjected to excessively harsh treatment in the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice systems. The overly punitive approach to youth crime results in a range of injustices– from mandatory detention for status offenses to life without parole sentences for more serious crimes.

Youth crime rates have dropped steadily since the 1990s, yet rates of incarcerating youth have increased. According to the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, the number of youth held in pre-trial detention has increased 72% since the early 1990s.[5]

Over 200,000 youth under 18 are removed from the juvenile justice system and tried as adults each year.[6]

There are severe consequences for youth who are transferred to the adult criminal justice system. Young people become eligible for mandatory sentencing and life without the possibility of parole when they are tried in adult courts.[7] In addition, youth are placed at a higher risk of assault, abuse, and death in the adult court system.[8] And federal protections for young people do not apply to youth sentenced as adults.[9]

Disproportionate Minority Contact and Racial Disparities in Sentencing and Incarceration

A glimpse at the people serving life without the possibility of parole provides a vivid example of the racial inequalities seen throughout the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Consider that:

The arrest rate of African American youth is nearly two times that of white youth. African American youth are 1.4 times more likely to be detained than white youth arrested for the same crimes, and are twice as likely to be transferred to adult court.[10]

African American youth are 10 times more likely than their white peers to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[11] This is just one example of disparities in sentencing: a 2001 Journal of Law and Economics empirical study of sentencing in federal courts found that, on average, African Americans of all ages are given sentences twice as long as whites.[12]

Although African Americans comprise only 12% of the overall population,[13] they make up more than half (56.1%) of youth sentenced to life without parole.[14] This is almost identical to the disparity seen among the overall population sentenced to life without parole, where 56.4% are African American.[15]

Mandatory Minimum Sentences and Lack of Judicial Discretion

Justice demands that when a crime is committed, the system should hand down a sentence appropriate for the offense. However, the rise of mandatory minimum sentencing and lack of judicial discretion have distorted this core value of the American justice system, denying judges and juries the ability to consider the individual facts of a case and to craft an appropriate punishment.

According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, 15 states allow prosecutors the discretion to have a youth’s case tried in the adult criminal court, 15 states require juvenile court judges to automatically transfer a youth’s case to adult criminal court for certain offenses or because of the age or prior record of the offender, and 29 states automatically require a youth’s case to be tried in the adult court based on the age of the youth or the alleged crime or both.[16]

In 29 states, once a young person is convicted of a particular crime in the adult system, he or she must receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.[17] Regardless of circumstances—be it mental health status, history of trauma, or amenability to treatment—neither a judge nor a jury has discretion to consider a less extreme sentence. This is especially egregious in the case of youth sentenced to life without parole, given their capacity for change and growth, but mandatory minimums are both prevalent and problematic throughout the criminal justice system.

Inadequate Assistance of Counsel

Access to effective counsel can determine whether defendants receive the most severe of punishments: life without parole and the death penalty.[18] While some excellent attorneys work on these cases, other defendants receive inadequate representation. In the case of youth in the criminal justice system, inadequate counsel can result in transfer to the adult system and the possibility of life without parole:

Court-appointed attorneys in Virginia assigned to provide legal counsel to youth facing transfer to the adult court are not required to have any criminal defense training or expertise and receive minimal payment.[19]

A study of youth sentenced to life without possibility of parole in Washington State found that in 7 out of the 28 cases in the state (25%), counsel have been either disbarred, censured, reprimanded and/or suspended from the practice of law.[20] In one case, the defense counsel failed to have a mental health evaluation done, did not call a single witness at the adult transfer hearing, spent no more than five hours with the client between the transfer to adult court and the trial, spent only two hours interviewing witnesses, and called no experts at trial.[21]

Sentencing youth to life in prison without hope for ever being released is an extreme and unjust practice that grossly undermines the values of our justice system. This irrevocable sentence sheds light on, and is frequently the result of, many broken pieces in our justice system that impact hundreds of thousands Americans. In order to uphold our shared values of rehabilitation, redemption, and fairness, these deeply rooted problems demand reform.

[1] Human Rights Watch, The Rest of Their Lives: Life without Parole for Youth Offenders in

[12] David B. Mustard, Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Sentencing: Evidence From the U.S. Federal Courts, 44 J. Law & Econ. 285, 296 (2001). Even when controlling for offense type and level, criminal history, and the geographic location of offenses, African Americans still receive sentences 12% longer than whites. Id. at 300.

[18] Capital cases between 1978 and 1995 had an astounding 68% reversal rate on appeal, due in large part to inadequate representation. Examples of inadequate counsel include Tennessee, where counsel offered no mitigating evidence in 25% of cases, and Philadelphia, where 60% of capital cases suffered from either lack of proper investigation and/or an experienced attorney. James S. Liebman, et al., A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995 (2000), available at http://www2.law.columbia.edu/instructionalservices/liebman/liebman_final.pdf.

[19] Am. Bar Ass’n, et al., Virginia: An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation in Delinquency Proceedings 19, 29 (2002), available at http://www.njdc.info/virginia.php.

[20] Wash. Coalition for the Just Treatment of Youth, A Reexamination of Youth Involvement in the Adult Criminal Justice System in Washington (2009), available athttp://www.columbialegal.org.

Formerly incarcerated youth: Supreme Court right that kids are different

I am a committed father who is working to keep kids out of trouble and our streets free of violent crime.

I also faced a possible sentence of life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty when I was only 16. I was convicted of third degree homicide instead of first degree murder and received a lesser sentence and served 8 ½ years behind bars. Since I was released in 1997, I have worked with hundreds of young men, trying to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system. Read more from formerly incarcerated youth...Edwin Desamour, Philadelphia

I was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison when I was 13 years old.

I had already spent time in the juvenile detention center on seven different occasions. Yet at such a young age, I didn't fully understand the ramifications of what had occurred; nor did I understand how so many lives -- including my own -- would be devastated because of my actions. I did not think the victim would die and I was not the actual killer, so I never imagined that I would face a long prison term. Only when I was transferred to adult court and spoke to my defense lawyer did I understand that I would likely spend decades in prison. I eventually plead guilty in order to avoid the 40-year sentence the state sought. Read more from formerly incarcerated youth...Xavier McElrath-Bey, Chicago

Mother tells her story of addressing the mental health issues that led to her son’s sentence

When my son was born, I knew very little about how kids typically behave. I was only 19 and he was my first child. His sister was not born for another 9 years.

During his formative years he was smart, quiet and obedient. He was in classes for gifted kids and showed talent in design and engineering at a very young age. He crafted elaborate building plans for spaceships, which at the time were very futuristic. I had no idea that he also suffered from a serious mental illness. Read more from families of incarcerated youth...Cat Lambert, Colorado

The mother of a 3-year-old homicide victim supports holding young people accountable for their crimes, but life-without-parole sentences for juveniles is not the answer.

Nearly 17 years ago, my three-year-old son, Casson Xavier “Biscuit” Evans, was killed in a drive-by shooting. I could not have imagined that I would someday want to see the shooter released from prison or that I would become an advocate for ending the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read more from families of victims...Sharletta Evans, Colorado

Bishops' Committee Joins Call To End Life Sentences Without Parole For Children

A committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has endorsed the principles of a national campaign to end the practice of sentencing people under the age of 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"While there is no question that violent and dangerous youth need to be confined for their safety and that of society, the USCCB does not support provisions that treat children as though they are equal to adults in their moral and cognitive development," said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, chairman of the committee. "Life sentences without parole eliminate the opportunity for rehabilitation or second chances." Read more from organizational partners...United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,

We did some dumb things as teenagers that might have caused a lot of harm. You probably did, too. Fortunately, we didn’t hurt anyone too badly, but we cringe now at how clueless we were about the possible consequences of what we did.

Teenagers often don’t make very good decisions. Our laws take this into account in many ways: We don’t let young people drink until they are 21, and they can’t sign contracts, vote or serve on juries until they are 18. But there is one area in which we ignore teens’ youth and impulsiveness: our criminal laws. Read more from opinion leaders...Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan,

Letter from Individual Currently Serving to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

"And it is crystal clear to me if I got out today there is not an ounce of fiber in me that wants to be involved in anything criminal. There is so much more available in life, only a moron would want to live life like this. I believe change can be made, and a big reason for that is 'cause I see it in myself." Read more from people currently serving...Individual Serving Life Without Parole for a Crime Committed as a Youth,